Americanisms swamping English, so wake up and smell the coffee | Mail Online Page 1 of 10

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Say no to the get-go! Americanisms swamping

English, so wake up and smell the coffee

By Matthew Engel

Last updated at 10:01 PM on 29th May 2010

It happened early this month, shortly after the first cuckoo. I heard it, I swear I heard it. The first get-go of spring. It was on the
BBC Breakfast programme on May 11: a presenter was wittering, and distinctly said that something-or-other had been clear
'from the get-go'.

From the what?

Actually, I know all about the get-go or, worse still, the git-go. It's an ugly Americanism, meaning 'from the start' or 'from the
off'. It adds nothing to Britain's language but it's here now, like the grey squirrel, destined to drive out native species and
ravage the linguistic ecosystem.

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The British have been borrowing words from America for at least two centuries

We have to be realistic: languages grow. The success of English comes from its adaptability and the British have been
borrowing words from America for at least two centuries.

Old buffers like me have always complained about the process, and we have always been defeated.

In 1832, the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge was fulminating about the 'vile and barbarous' new adjective that had just arrived in
London. The word was 'talented'. It sounds innocuous enough to our ears, as do 'reliable', 'influential' and 'lengthy', which all
inspired loathing when they first crossed the Atlantic.

But the process gathered speed with the arrival of cinema and television in the 20th Century. And in the 21st it seems
unstoppable. The U.S.-dominated computer industry, with its 'licenses', 'colors' and 'favorites' is one culprit. That ties in with
mobile phones that keep 'dialing' numbers that are always 'busy'.

My dictionary (a mere 12 years old) defines 'geek' as an American circus freak or, in Australia, 'a good long look'. We needed
a word to describe someone obsessively interested in computer technology. It seems a shame there was never any chance of
coining one ourselves.

Nowadays, people have no idea where American ends and English begins. And that's a disaster for our national self-esteem.
We are in danger of subordinating our language to someone else's - and with it large aspects of British life.

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Yet no one seems to care. The stern old type of English teacher has died out and many newspapers cannot now afford
'Prodnoses', the last-line-of-defence sub-editors who used to guard the language with a thick pencil.

Sometimes, the language can be improved by the imports. The British would never be able even to define the deficit had we
not adopted the American billion (a thousand million) to replace our old hardly used billion (a million million).

I accept that estate agents find it easier to sell fancy apartments rather than boring old flats. And it's right that our few non-
passenger trains should carry freight not goods, because that's a more accurate description of the contents.

But the process is non-selective and almost wholly one-way. And it works very strangely. Almost all the parts of a car have
different names in America, yet there is no sign of hood replacing bonnet, or the trunk supplanting the boot.

Meanwhile, the most improbable areas of activity are terminally infected. Take the law. Ask any lawyer and they will explain:
witnesses in British courts do not testify, they give evidence; nor do they 'take the stand' to do this, they go into the witness
box. They do things the American way in media reports of court cases, though - day after day.

We are witnessing a transatlantic takeover in politics as well. This month, Britain acquired a National Security Council. Last
year, it gained a Supreme Court. There is talk that the House of Lords will be renamed the Senate.

It also used to be understood that, while American politicians 'ran' for office, British politicians always 'stood'. I liked that: it
implied a pleasing reticence. Now in Britain both words are used interchangeably and in this month's General Election
candidates stood and ran at the same time. No wonder they kept falling flat on their faces.

Then take sport, where Britain's national tastes are totally different from those of the Americans. I happen to belong to
the .0001 per cent (approx) of the British population who count as baseball fans. This makes it even more offensive to me
when politicians parrot phrases such as 'three strikes and you're out' although they haven't got the foggiest idea what it means.

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Technical baseball terms are everywhere. We constantly hear about people 'stepping up to the plate'. For some weird reason,
cricket coaches are especially fond of this one. And ideas keep coming from the baseball position of 'left field'. Wouldn't silly
mid-on be more appropriate?

And so, hi guys, hel-LO, wake up and smell the coffee. We need to distinguish between the normal give-and-take of linguistic
development and being overrun - through our own negligence and ignorance - by rampant cultural imperialism.

We are all guilty. In the weeks after 9/11 (or 11/9, as I prefer to call it), British journalists, and I was one of them, solemnly
reported that the planes had been hijacked by men waving box-cutters, even though no one in Britain knew what a box-cutter
was. Very few of us bothered to explain that these were what we have always called Stanley knives.

But it is time to fight back. The battle is almost uncertainly unwinnable but I am convinced there are millions of intelligent
Britons out there who wince as often as I do every time they hear a witless Americanism introduced into British discourse.

Stand up and say you care. Feel free to write with your favourite horrors. Come out of the closet. Or better still, the cupboard.

Matthew Engel is a columnist on the Financial Times. Send your pet hate Americanisms to
englishincrisis@gmail.com.

Comments (23)

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I visit the USA a lot. I also have American family members, so I am used to hearing many of these words and phrases. Here is
my list of Americanisms, some of which are creeping in over here

Taps=faucets, road=pavement or blacktop, pavement=sidewalk, holiday=vacation, toilets=restrooms, scones=biscuits,

biscuits=cookies, takeaway=carryout, motorway=freeway, curtains=drapes, jam=jelly, jelly=jell-o, car park=parking lot,
handbag=purse, purse=wallet, wallet=billfold, junction=intersection, trousers=pants, bed quilt=comforter, cushion=pillow,
garden=yard, cinema=movie theater, torch=flashlight, nappies=diapers, tights=pantyhose, waistcoat=vest, jumper=sweater,
worktop=countertop, cupboard=closet, shopping trolley=shopping cart, primary school=elementary school

these are just a few, there are hundreds more! I also have to wonder why Americans park on a driveway, yet drive on a
parkway......

There are still many differences. It is still English, but not as we know it

- Sue, Darlington, 30/5/2010 0:54

Click to rate Rating 243

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Mr Engel,

Please be assured that you are not alone! My pet hate is the way that any pc is configured to US English as standard. Of
course it can be told to use UK English but mine have always had a tendancy to reset to US. Any other language can be
removed from the memory but American is there for good. If anyone can tell me a reliable way to purge it from my pcs
PLEASE post: everything I've tried so far says it will remove it at the next reboot but it never does.

- Harry, Huddersfield, 30/5/2010 0:49

Click to rate Rating 143

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Report abuse
I'm a dual citizen & my Brit husband & I have had some very strange & funny problems with our English misunderstandings
when we first got together. Even though I've lived in Britain longer than I did in the States and have tried to adapt to English
ways of speech, I actually fuse the two together & use phrases & grammar interchangeably. This was a point of humour when
I was studying to be a teacher of English as a Foreign Language - my poor students learned both styles of English without me
realising it!

As an American, my favourite Brit English expression is to "she fell pregnant"! OH dear!!!!!

- Joy, London, 30/5/2010 0:35

Click to rate Rating 145

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British news readers saying 'downtown' instead of 'central' makes me wince. They say it all too often these days.

- Edward, Kent, United Kingdom, 30/5/2010 0:35

Click to rate Rating 135

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We are fast becoming the 51st state of the union. It's not only the Americanisation of the English language but most of our
traditions. Penny-for-the-guy is now trick-or-treat. Kids now go to proms and we have vacations instead of holidays. Father
Christmas is now Santa Claus. Everyone says "hi" instead of "hello" and if I see another sportsman giving another hi-fives I'll
lose it! We have the chavvy stretched limos for hen nights.

Enough is enough, please lets preserve what is left of our language from the colonials

- The Cad, Birmingham, UK, 30/5/2010 0:34

Click to rate Rating 187

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Actually one can not blame it all on the Americans...
We have the new 'uz' from north of the border when its clearly 'us' with an 'S' not a 'Z'.
Also instead of 'you' we now have 'choo'.which is an insult to the English language.
And what about those on our BBC treasure hunting shows, no longer do they go to the 'auction' to sell their buys, they go to
the 'Oction'
I just turn the programme over when I hear a presenter such as Jenny Bond use that irritating pronunciation.

- Scully, England, 30/5/2010 0:32

Click to rate Rating 117

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My pet hates are the use of 'program' instead of 'programme' and 'airplane' instead of 'aeroplane'. I can just about stomach
'computer program' but 'TV program' sets my teeth on edge. Any use of 'airplane' by a Brit is frankly murder of the language of
Shakespeare!

- Simon, Here, 30/5/2010 0:25

Click to rate Rating 38

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I understand the point your making, hope this article does not offend Americans though, it's a nice country and American
people are really very nice.

- mike, county durham, 30/5/2010 0:23

Click to rate Rating 75

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Or is it ex-pat ? Why bother with the entire word ? It is so Anglo Saxon.

Trust me, you have never communicated until you have put together 'off' & 'of' !! The combination is a necessity in American
journalistic prowess.

The book fell off of the table.

Go figure !!

- Morgan Atkinson, Portland Oregon (ex-patriot), 30/5/2010 0:23

Click to rate Rating 35

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Has anyone noticed?

The word something no longer exists.

The majority of the British population including Newscasters (who should know better) now says somethink.

The word is something WITH A "G", not somethink WITH A "K".

Come on Britain, start speaking English.

- SJW, Guildford, UK., 30/5/2010 0:14

Click to rate Rating 65

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Matthew, for the purposes of clarity, perhaps you should distinguish between 'faze' - to disconcert, and 'phase' which implies
sequentiality.

Personally, I think it supremely ironic that the Americans are so keen on 'Spelling Bees', when none of them can spell for
toffee. Just ask them to spell 'foetus', or 'encyclopaedia' and you'll see what I mean.

- Henrietta Dods, Once Great Britain, 30/5/2010 0:12

Click to rate Rating 2

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The use of verbs, mangled into ersatz nouns drives me crazy. My least favourite is 'ouster', but there are others. Also
'comedic' actors, not comedy actors; a phrase that is creeping more and more into U. K. news bulletins.

- Stuart, Palma Spain, 30/5/2010 0:10

Click to rate Rating 32

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Awesome .... A 'sticking plaster' word used by Americans to cover over the huge gaps in their vocabulary.

- Susan Clarkson, San Diego, USA Ex-Pat, 30/5/2010 0:09

Click to rate Rating 35

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And it's right that our few non-passenger trains should carry freight not goods, because that's a more accurate description of
the contents.

Oh no it's not. Freight is the fee paid for transportation, not the contents being transported.

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- Steve, Eastleigh, 30/5/2010 0:07

Click to rate Rating 34

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"but I am convinced there are millions of intelligent Britons out there who wince"

Dear Mr. Engel,

By "out there" I take it you mean those that have left the country? Because I cannot for a moment you made the mistake of
believing that there are "millions of intelligent Britons" still living in the UK, that would be a gross contradiction. How could they
be intelligent and still be there?

- Brian Bishop, Alicante Spain, 30/5/2010 0:04

Click to rate Rating 47

Report abuse
Hooray, at long last someone has written an article about this annoying Americanism creeping into our English language. It
has annoyed me for years. I used to work for a major American airline and that is when I first heard the expression "hi guys". I
actually thought that they were addressing men only! The expressions "I'm good", "on the weekend", "it grosses me out" and
others annoy me beyond belief. Why do we have to speak like our neighbours across the Atlantic when we have our own
perfectly good standard of English? American English in its present form is just a concoction of how all the immigrants
pronounce the English language surely adding their own intonations from their country's dialect. It is also very much a lazy
form of English. So, I for one, am going to a christening AT the weekend! Long live our English language.

- Cecilia, Glasgow, 30/5/2010 0:03

Click to rate Rating 33

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Oh yes, I agree 100%! I hate the silly expression "I could so do that", yuk! Bring back real English, it is so much better, so
expressive and we already have enough words to describe anything, if the lazy, pretentious young could manage to do a little
learning!

- Nigel, Somerset, 30/5/2010 0:02

Click to rate Rating 40

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Go read some books by H. L. Mencken on this subject.

- ella, US, 29/5/2010 23:54

Click to rate Rating 17

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I just hate the trend for saying 'Can I get a coffee?' instead of 'Can/could I have a coffee?'
Can I get.. what do you want to do... walk behind the counter and 'get ' it yourself?

- Ex-pat, France, 29/5/2010 23:54

Click to rate Rating 69

Report abuse
You should hear the British college students speaking with fake American twangs and saying 'dude' and 'awesome' every few
minutes, it's nuts.

- David, England, 29/5/2010 23:53

Click to rate Rating 140

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Stop whinging.

- Person, UK, 29/5/2010 23:43

Click to rate Rating 56

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When you Brits agree to stop referring to "flashlights" as "torches," and "vacuum cleaners" as "Hoovers," we will promise to
stop infiltrating the Queen's English.

In the meantime, please stop renaming our inventions!

- Hayes, Sacramento, CA USA, 29/5/2010 23:30

Click to rate Rating 34

Report abuse
Awesome !

- Howard, London, UK., 29/5/2010 23:29

Click to rate Rating 41

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